P Oxy 44 5B.62/E(1 2)a NOTIFICATION OF DEATH 29/1/179 AD

Plate 14

Introduction

This death notice dates to 29/1/179 AD, and measures 6.1cm x 27.2cm; it is complete, though has suffered from the ravages of worms during the course of time. The upper margin is 1.5cm wide, though the text does not fill the entire length of the papyrus, and 10.5cm is left blank at the bottom. There is a small addition towards the bottom of

the papyrus, but it cannot be deciphered, nor even

established 1*^ which hand it is in. Death notices have been the subject of an exhaustive study by Casarico1, who republished all death notices in chronological order and tabulated their phraseology according to nome, analysing the

form in the introduction. She usefully lists all the

previous literature on the subject2. Since her work, five other death notices have appeared; three were published by

Duttenhofer3, one as P. Praq. I 19 and one by

Molyviati-Toptsi4. Note that of the three death

certificates listed by the latter as to be added to Casarico, the first two are in fact in Casarico (SB XVI 12383 and SB XVI 12712) and the third (P. Sakaon 50) is not in fact properly speaking a death certificate, but merely a report of death dated to 317AD. The death notice edited here for the first time displays some variants from the usual form, though follows the standard Oxyrhynchite type in outline.

There were probably three copies of each death

notice5 .una indirizzata al funzionario responsabile

dell'amminstrazione fiscale del nomo (PaaiXixog YpappaTEug), che doveva chiedere la verifica della denuncia ai funzionari locali (YPOtMjiaTEiQ jjtitp o ttoXeioc nelle metropoli, K to p o Y p a p p a T E v s ’ nei villaggi) ai quali veniva indirizzata una seconda copia;

lwIl Controllo della Popolazione nell'Egitto Romano: Le Denunce di Morte", L. Casarico. Azzate, 1985, = C.P.G. II.

2See especially introduction, notes 15 - 20. 3 "Drei Todesanzeigen", ZPE 79 (1989).

4 "A Death Certificate in the Berkeley Collection", ZPE 77 (1989) . 5See Casarico, introduction, p.21.

gli stessi poi ne rilasciavano una terza con il visto al dichiarante (un esempio di queste potrebbero essere quelle con la nota KaraKEXwpicrrai/icaTEXWpioOTi e ectxov t o u t o u t o ictov) .

Inoltre ogni funzionario interessato doveva, con ogni

probability, far redigere almeno una copia della denuncia da inserire in archivio, dopo la verifica della stessa; non si spieggherebbe altrimenti la denuncia SB VI 9627a,b di cui si hanno due copie indirizzate alio stesso funzionario.” Ours, then, is clearly the copy that would have been retained by

the declarant, as it has the subscription of the

komogrammateus.

One subject not covered fully by Casarico, in our view, is the adducing of evidence concerning laographia. The frequency with which death notices occur reflect the

simultaneous decline of laographia. This decline is

discussed by Belli and Wallace2. Wallace cites 0. Strass. 118 as our latest laographia receipt, probably dating from 243 AD. To those receipts listed by Wallace may now also be added P. Oxv. XLIII 3107 (238 AD), P. Oxv. XLIV 3172 (219 AD), P. Lug. Bat. XIX 14 (248 AD), P. Strassb. 378 (215 AD), P. Alex. 16 (222 - 4 AD), P. Vindob. SaTamons 14 (242 ^ AD) and P. Miinchen III 111 (222 - 235 AD). For poll tax receipts in general, see 0. Tebt. Pad. I 1 - 27 for the most

recent list and add (apart from those already given

post-dating the Con^/tutio Antoniniana), P. Strassb. 724, P. Cairo. Mich. II 359 and P. Athen. 513. Our latest evidence for the poll tax now seems to be P. Oxv. XLIII 3114, dating from 267 AD. An Aurelius Polydeuces reports to the phylarch that his name has been left off the poll tax list. There are also death notices from the third century concerning adults who are XaoYpOKjxJUHEVOi - one dated to 237 AD (SB I 5136) and two simply assigned to the third century (P . Bouriant 26 and SB I 5176).

It is not clear why the poll tax went into decline, but the lack of receipts and other references from the/ third century is remarkable. The only death notices later than this are all addressed to the systates and come from the Oxyrhynchite nome. In two (P. Oxv. XLIII 3141 (299 - 300 AD) and P. Oxv. XII 1551 (304 AD)), the status of the deceased

1,rThe Constitutio Antoniniana and the Egyptian Poll Tax", JRS 37 (1947) . 2 "Taxation in Egypt", chp. 8 ("The Poll Tax in Egypt"), esp. p . 133-4. 3Published in Seg. 60 (1980), p . 149 - 52.

is simply described as avaYpa<|>onEvog, and in the third, an

unedited Oxyrhynchus papyri of 311 AD1, there is no

reference to the deceased's status. The systates, an

official first attested in P.S.I. Ill 164 (286 - 287 AD), was previously thought to be unique to the Oxyrhynchite nome; there is now also an occurrence of the word in P .

Panoo. Beatty. Of course, it is still not clear why

notifications of death were submitted in the cases of minors or people over sixty (i.e. those no longer liable for the

poll tax) other than a desire to keep tabs on the

population.

Although our latest census date is 257 - 258 AD2, if we

project hypothetical census dates at fourteen yearly

intervals after this, we arrive at some interesting results concerning the beginnings of the indiction system. After 257 - 8 AD, the following censuses would have been 271 -2, 285 - 6, 299 - 300 and 313 - 4 AD. 287 AD was the year of the first tax-schedule issued on the new system (in May - June3). From 287 AD to 302 AD there were three cycles of five-year tax schedules. It is then generally assumed that the fifteen year indiction cycle was introduced in 314 - 315 AD, though retrospectively, as being already the third year of the cycle. Although different kinds of information would clearly be required for a land-based tax assessment from that collected in the censuses, yet it is very tempting to suggest that Egypt waited until one more census had been completed before introducing the new indiction cycle. It must also be borne in mind that the system may have varied from nome to nome. In the Oxyrhynchite nome, our earliest attestation of the systates coincides with the first trial epigraphe (though the editors suggest that his titulature does not have a "ring of novelty"). Thus we might conclude that laographia was finally phased out with the introduction of the epigraphai; yet the habit of submitting death notices did not die out until the introduction of the indiction system proper, even though there appears to be no obvious explanation for this.

1We are grateful to Dominic Montserrat for showing us this papyrus. 2 See S.P. II, p . 26f f . , "Die Jilngsten VolkszShlungen und die Altesten Indictionen in Agypten" (Wilcken).

3See the extremely important article on this subject by Thomas, in BASP 15 (1978), "Epigraphai and Indictions in the Reign of Diocletian".

Bagnall and Worp1 cite at the end of their introduction

the various papyri which concern the possible date of

introduction of the first fifteen year indiction cycles P.S.I. VII 820, which seems to indicate that the coming indiction cycle was known in April 314 AD; P. Cair. Isid. 122, a rent receipt dated 28/7/315 AD, which acknowledges receipt of rent for the second and third indictions; similarly retrospective is P. Cair. Isid. 55 of 18/11/314

AD, a receipt for rent for the (then passed) second

indiction; P. Erl. 52 mentions expenditure of the "first" indiction dated May 214 - this must relate to expenditure since the issue of the first tax-schedule (which was called the second elsewhere); finally there is P. Col. VII 141a, a "receipt for taxes paid in barley of indiction 2, paid during the harvest of that indiction". If, as Bagnall and Worp conclude, the cycle was introduced in the summer of 314 AD, then this would follow exactly on a projected census date. Unfortunately, there is no immediately clear reason for retaining a census after the abandonment of laographia

(and one could not posit the continuance of laographia through the first epigraphai down to 214 AD, in the light of our total lack of documentary evidence). Perhaps the census was retained simply through habit; for a system based on epigraphai one would not require a population list, but a list of land-owners and their holdings - a document like B.G.U. XI 2072 ("Liste von Kleruchen") where the editor suggests:"Diese Rolle was also eine Art Grundbuch oder Kataster. Da£ sie auch als Grundlage fur die Vernalagung zur Grundsteuer gedient hat, ist moglich..." For the system of assessment one could imagine a scenario similar to that outlined in P. Hamb. Ill 202 (introduction); Bagnall and Worp discuss the issuing of tax schedules in chapter 4.2

Text

<ml> xapa Amoitocttou k<xi A[io-

vuaiou Aioyevoua [x]p[ocr

^ C h r o n o l o g i c a l Systems in Byzantine Egypt", Holland, 1978.

Iaapouroa axr OljupuYXWv TroX(eioa) o 8ouXocj pot) Euruxnor O KOCt

^xaSaaTeXCeioa) avaYpct<|)op[e- 5 vo a znap<|)o5ou nXaT[sxaa

eteXeutti ctev etx 7raX[ax 5x0 E7rx5x5iopx t o [o]7to— pvnpa a£xcov av[a-

Ypa(|>nvax aurov ex a rn _{* •}v 10

tcov opxxov ra^x<v> to[a K]a-

Oxikex Kax opvuio tx iv

TCOV a U T O K p a T O p t O V

Kaxoaptov MapKou Aupxi[Xxou

Avxtovxvou Kax Ao u k x o u 15

♦

[A]upnXtou Koppo5ou ZsPaoTtov tuxov pxi

<E>xpEUO0ai <m2> L 10 auTOKpaTOp[w]v

4 • h * •

Kaxoaptov MapKou AupnXxou

Avtwvxvou Kax Aoukxou AupxiXx[ou 20

• »

Koppo5[o]u Espaarcov App[£lvxaK03v MtiSxkcov [IIap]0[xK](ov TEppavxKCOv [Za]ppa[Tx]Ktov MsYxcmov

[p]£Xft[p] 5 Apoxa o Kax A..[ 21

E7rx5£5(oxc[a <m3>] IItoX( )

o Kto(poYpapparEX)a) e[a]x9v toutou T9 xaov

3 ito' 5 te' 22 K0J7

Translation

<ml> From Amois, also known as Dionysios, son of Diogenes and whose mother is Isarous, from the city of Oxyrhynchos. My slave Eutijches, also known as Psiathas, an adult, registered in the quarter of Platias, died a while ago, so I am making this declaration, seeing fit that his name should be written into the list of the dead as is proper, and I swear by the fortune of the emperors Marcus

Aurelius Antoninus Pius Caesar and Lucius Aurelius Commodus Pius Caesar, that I have not lied. <m2> In the 19th year of the emperors Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Pius Armeniacus Medicus Parthicus Germanicus Sarmaticus Augustus Caesar and Lucius Aurelius Commodus Pius Armeniacus Medicus Parthicus Germanicus Sarmaticus Augustus Caesar, mecheir 4. I, Amois, also known as (Dionysios) have sworn. <m3> I, Ptol( ), komogrammateus, have a copy of this.

Commentary

1) Nearly all notifications of death open with the formula t i o i 8e i v i xrapa t o u 5e i v o c; those addressed to the

basilikos grammateus usually have an additional note at the end in the hand of the royal scribe, asking the local scribe

(either the komogrammateus or the grammateis of the

metropolis) to certify the death1. Only three other death notices actually lack an addressee, as this one does: B.G.U. XI 2021 of 215 AD, P. Oxv. LII 3689 of 226 AD and SB I 5136 of 237 AD (= Casarico numbers 73, 74 bis and 78). Casarico adopts the explanation given by the editor of B.G.U. XI

2021: "Merkwiirdiq ist, da/3 am Anfang die Adresse

fehlt. . .vielleicht ist es eine im Biiro des paaiXucog YpappciTEug gemachte Abschrift..." This suggestion would obtain better if the copy were for retention in the office of the basilikos grammateus, but this cannot apply either to B.G.U. XI 2021 (as it was forwarded to the komogrammateus) or to

our papyrus since it has the subscription of the

komogrammateus. Was ours then the original declaration, forwarded from the office of the basilikos grammateus ? It could not be a copy made in the office of the basilikos grammateus and forwarded to the komogrammateus, since it would be impossible to explain the presence of more than one

hand. Although our document may have arrived via the office

of the basilikos grammateus, it would have to be an original sent there from a notary or scribe. We do have an example of a notification of death in duplicate, with one copy

addressed to the basilikos grammateus and one to the komogrammateus, but practice may well have differed from period to period.

1) Like most metropolites, Amois is of mixed Greek and Egyptian descent. As is usual, the age and occupation of

the declarant are not indicated, but his paternity,

maternity and place of origin are.

4) Death notices concerning slaves were comparatively uncommon. The only other ones are P. Oxv. II 262 (61 AD), P. Oxv. XLIX 3510 (78 - 79 AD), P. Oxv. XLI 2957 (91 AD), B.G.U. Ill 773 (100 AD), P. Oxv. XXXI 2564 (153 AD), P^. Strassb. 528 (145 - 160 AD), P. Oxv. VII 1030 (212 AD) and SB I 5137 (237 AD), = Casarico numbers 9, 15, 17, 19, 44, 50, 71, 77. Here, as in the other notifications concerning slaves, the master makes the declaration. The slave too has one Greek and one Egyptian name.

5) teX( ) This abbreviation does not seem to occur elsewhere in death notices, though teX(w v) might be a possibility as it is always associated with a named tax

(teXwv ra ETrxKExJxxXaxa, teXuv tt|v XaoYpa<|nav) . One might at this point expect the profession of the deceased1 - ktevxcttxk, EpxoxrwXnc, XEpoTEKTtov, TEKTiov, xspsug, Ycpoxog or atEXvog. Only the last two occupations are attested for slaves, and in one case (B.G.U. Ill 773^ no occupation is given at all. The correct realisation almost certainly lies in P. Mich. X 579 which is of similar date (ca. 150 AD); in it the deceased is described as teXexoc, adult. This is an indication of the deceased's fiscal status, i.e. he is neither a<t>nXx2; (under

r r

fourteen) nor xurspETric (over sixty - cf. B.G.U. XI 2087 (lines 4 - 5): "oubnXil; | pnrcco te[Xw]v t[o] TEXsapa XaoYpa<|>xa(a)" and SB IV 7359 (lines 7 - 8):"uttepettia cctoXeXupevocf m<j Xao|Ypc«i>x<xa") . Usually, an adult's poll-tax liability is indicated simply by the expression avotYpa<l)0|i£voa (£7r'a|i(Jx)5ou). As is normal in notifications of deaths of slaves, the slave's parentage is not given. Though slaves were liable for poll-tax, they were paid for by their masters, who paid the same amount for the slave as that for which they were liable. We have applications for the epicrisis of slaves

(e.g. B.G.U. I 324. P.S.I. VII 732 etc.). Wallaces

1See Casarico, introduction p . 16. 2 "Taxation in Egypt...", chp.7.

says:"The proof of the privileged status of the master alone was sufficient to sustain the epicrisis of a slave". For poll-tax lists, see P. Lon. II 257 - 259 (p.19 - 42).

6) Rink1 comments on this amphodon as follows:"Das «Hauptstra£e-Viertel» von Oxyrhynchos hat in den agyptischen Papyri nicht seinesgleichen. Wohl sind 7rXaT£iai in den meisten Stadten xiberliefert, einen gleichen Viertelnamen

finden wir jedoch nirgends."

7) The date of Eutyches' death is left vague (etittciXgu) and the expression only occurs in four other death notices - B.G.U. XIII 2230ii (160 AD), P. Oxv. XXXVI 2761 (161 - 169 AD), P. Fay. 237 (second - third century) and P. Praq. I 19

(of 177 - 180 AD).

8) As usual, the request that the deceased's name be added to the list of the dead follows. In all nomes the request involves the verbs £7rx8x8iopx and/or ix£uo. The verb that follows is TaYnvai in the Arsinoite nome and otvaYpa<t>nvai in the Oxyrhynchite nome, bar 5 [6] cases (Casarico numbers 1, 56, 65, 81, 82, [75]) out of the 23 Oxyrhynchite examples in Casarico's work. Where £7rx8x8(opx is used in conjunction with a£uo, the latter is usually given in the participle. Exact parallels for the expression 5io smSxStopx to uxopvxipa a£uov avaYpa<|>Tivai aurov may be found in P. Oxv. I 173 (of 174 AD), P. Merton II 84 (of 201 AD) and P. Oxv. VII 1030 (of

212 AD) . Indeed, the Oxyrhynchite formula for the second half of the third century seems to be 8xo £7rx5x8copx a£uov whereas earlier it was rather a£xw avayp«4>nvai.

10) The expression Eia ttiv | tcov opucov ra£i<v> is unique. Though tcc£x might be considered an iotacism for tcx£ex, the accusative rriv in the previous line is clear. The normal expression is ev rrji tcov opoxcov/tsteXeuttikotcov tgc^ex. This itself would seem to be an ellipse for a longer expression, which we find in P. Oxv. XLIV 3510 (lines 14f f .) : "a&co ouv | avaypatpEoOax rouroua ev txix tgc^ex | tcov tete[X]euttikotcov too <xu[t]ox) | etoxxt toa E7rx tcov [o]pouov". For ox > u, see Gignac I, p.197. Casarico fails to mention P. Lon. II 259 (p.36 - 42), which is a list of "persons who have ceased to be liable to the tax, either from having reached the age of exemption or by death." Line 65 has the abbreviation [ ]teX( ) which the editor supplements [te]teX(eutxikotcov); while not a Tot^xg teteXeutxikotxov, it clearly

contains information derived from a ra£xg teteXexjttikotcov. There is also an unnumbered Hawara papyrus1 with the abbreviation teX( ) and which is listed by Wilcken as being a rct^xg teteXeuttikotwv. Casarico2 says: "L' ipotesi del Wilcken pare

fondata unicamente sullo scioglimento di teX( ) = teX(eutxi aavTsa)

ma se fosse una lista di morti normale, sarebbe

teteXeuttikotect; poterebbe essere teX(ouvtect) come paganti qualche tassa." Cf. note to 1.5 - one might also suggest teX(eioi) .

12) Ttiv...Tuxnv The occurrence of this expression in oaths in notifications of death is not so common, and occurs in P. Oxv. XXXVI 2761 (161 - 169 AD), P. Merton II 84 (201 AD), P. Oxv. VII 1030 (212 AD) and P. Oxv. LII 3689 (of 226 AD) . In the Oxyrhynchite nome, the expression seems to be limited to the second half of the second and the first half of the third centuries.

18) The initial epsilon of the infinitive also has to be supplied at P. Oxv. XXXVI 2761 (161 - 169 AD). For the

omission of the augment, see Gignac II, p. 225 and

Mandilaras3, section 236.

25) pExeip 5 A very large proportion of notifications of death are made in the month of mecheir. Brashear4 follows Montevecchi5 in assuming that those whose deaths were registered before the half year was up were only liable for half the amount of poll-tax. The date here is January 29th,

179 AD. At the end of the line one would expect A p o ia o icax Axo[vuaxoa, but the traces after he initial delta do not conform well. Also, there is a slight interlinear trace above the word, indicating that it was probably abbreviated. Amois seems to have dated the document himself, as well as giving his oath (1.18f.). The first part of the text was probably dictated by Amois to the scribe.

26) What follows must be the subscription of the

komogrammateus, though it is very cursive. The two

commonest names in I ItoX - are IlToX(Ejjaxoa) and IlToX (X aa); the spot above the word is probably an ink-blot. We have the

P u b l i s h e d in APF 5 (1913), p . 395 - 6. i n t r o d u c t i o n , note 40.

In document Homeric and documentary papyri from Oxyrhynchos (Page 169-178)